Planet Fitness – Clifton Park

Others have said it more eloquently than I can, this place is a dump. Broken machines, toilets backing up.

Machines are outdated, half are broken or don’t work correctly, gym is NEVER clean (the same paper towel has been sitting in the cup holder of the machine I’m using for 4 days), the ceiling is leaking and the gym is much too small for the amount of people coming. I’ve been using this gym for 2 years and have recently switched to the Troy gym because it’s so much cleaner and nicer. I’m back this week to CP out of convenience and I’m totally reminded of why I left 6 months ago. It gets worse with each visit.

I personally enjoy this gym. The price is right at $ 10/​month.
Some machines are broken or have small deficiencies but for the most part everything works well.
One great thing about this location is that they did not take out the barbells/​free weight benches. Many Planet fitness locations removed them for liability reasons. I only wish there was a squat rack and not just smith machines.
I am not incredibly experienced in weight lifting but this gym gets the job done at a very competitive price.
Most of the staff are friendly, I usually only say hello and hand them my card.
Great gym all in all

This place is the craigslist of gyms; the bottom of the barrel dump. Ditzy airhead brainless bimbo employees pretending that their doing anything other than actual work. All the equipment is near broken or broken on a continual basis, water leaks from the ceiling, gays staring at you in the men’s room, the «work in process» sign on the wall that is a running joke, and filthy disgusting toilets add the final touch. If you want the cheapest gym money can buy, go, for it. If it wasn’t for the fact this crap hole charged me $ 99.00 for a year, I would even drive by this smelly garbage heap.

I wish I could rate this a zero, but that does not work.
I have been working out for 23 years, 5 years at Bally’s and 18 years at Golds and recently VENT. Since I travel for a living, I have been to at least 50 gyms throughout the eastern half of the US.
I have not been happy with the direction VENT has gone in. I no longer have a worldwide network of gyms to choose from, and I can no longer stand the blaring teenie bopper, rap, hip hop crap they play in the gyms and locker rooms. I go to a VENT gym almost every day. I was also not happy that the Guilderland location did away with the sauna to make room for the junk they sell at the counter.
Now that I am 50, I decided I would look for a gym that is not only less expensive, but has a great network of gyms and does not attack you with horrible, loud music.
After research, I decided I would switch to Planet Fitness and pay the $ 19.99 per month so I can work out all over the country. I have no interest in tanning, or any other perks this membership offers me.
I decided to go to my local Clifton Park gym on a Sunday mornning and work out so I could make my final decision. I was happy to see that it was not crowded and it was QUIET.
I road my motorcycle, so I had to shed my jacket, gloves, helmet, sunglasses etc. and grab my gym bag. After smiling and addressing the young lady at the front, I told her my story and asked her where the locker room was. She was 18 — 20 with a smug, uninviting look on her face. She obviously wanted to be elsewhere.
She told me that it is $ 15.00 for a «day pass» I told her that I simply wanted to check out the gym and that I was definitely joining… I did not have $ 15.00 on me.
She smiled smugly and told me that I could not come in without the $ 15.00 day pass. I told her that she wasted my time… should have asked her name…

Not too bad of a place! I’ve only ever had a membership to this Planet Fitness, so admittedly I’m not sure how ABC or Gold’s is or whatever those are. But this one, I do like. I lost 60 pounds with the help of Planet Fitness so I definitely can’t say it, as a gym, didn’t do its job. I like the machines there even if some of them are out of order some of the time (which happens frequently but hasn’t a problem for me personally); they get the job done. It’s not too cramped and has a smörgåsbord of things which definitely helps. It doesn’t smell TOO badly in there either which is definitely a plus! And I see the staff cleaning all the time which is nice. Speaking of which, most of the staff here is super friendly and knows their stuff too which I really really enjoy. Only two people out of their entire staff I have problems with – one man who I think left (haven’t seen him there in ages) who just had this elitist attitude about him and one woman (who definitely still works there) who just acts kind of shady and holier-​than-​thou (almost literally actually). But other than that, no complaints! Thanks guys.

I’ve been a member of this gym for over two years. The facility is always very clean and the staff is always friendly. At 10 bucks a month, it’s also a great value! I wish they were open later on the weekend, but other than that, this is a great gym. I’m very happy with it.
However, they really need to get some wifi!

Some really entertaining reviews on here. Some people might be vying for Unilocal Elite with the quality of the snobbery. Bearing in mind Planet Fitness is a lot like buying a Honda. It’s a budget gym intended for people who either cannot afford to spend a lot of money on a fancy place to lift heavy things and run on a glorified hamster wheel, or those that just don’t see any value in paying a lot more money for slightly more service. But like the Honda, Planet Fitness gets the job done. With that disclaimer, my review:
PLEASE NOTE THIS GYM COST ABOUT $ 10 A MONTH!!!
I avoid the gym pretty strongly but typically do 1 – 2 weight and elliptical/​hill interval workouts a week to supplement my trail runs, rock climbing, hiking, cycling, loaded ruck walks, skiing and other workouts. In the warm weather I even bike to the gym instead of riding a stationary bike to warm-​up. So for me. Planet Fitness offers more than I really need. That is, it allows me to lift heavy things to protect my joints from injury when I am doing things I really like to do.
PLEASE NOTE THIS GYM COST ABOUT $ 10 A MONTH!!!
Crowds: I rarely workout during peak hours. Usually overnight. If we don’t get into the mountains, we sometimes do a weekend workout between 5−7pm. So I cannot comment much on how crowded it is during peak. During the off peak hours I use the gym, typically a few to a dozen or so people are spaced throughout the gym. I never have had an issue getting on my machines when I need to, and in most cases there are two of every machine.
Pros:
I pay $ 10 a month for myself and another $ 10 for my wife, $ 20 total for 2 individual memberships. If you always work out with the same person (together) you can get a similar deal with a Black Card, which has the added benefit of allowing you access to ANY Planet Fitness in the US. Great for people who travel or drive a lot for work. $ 20 for 2 people on a month to month basis is almost insanely cheap. So bear in mind, my entire review is based on the fact that this cost me and my wife about half of a typical SINGLE membership at many other gyms.
Gym is generally clean. As opposed to other reviews, I know it is thoroughly cleaned because they typically do it during my visits overnight (between 11pm and 2am). I watch them mop all the floors and clean the machines.
Cons:
Diversity of equipment. A few bikes, lots of deadmills (also known as human hamster wheels or treadmills), and two different types of elliptical (one is more like a stair stepper). Really wish they had a real stair stepper and rowing machines. Or even a ski machine. But if you set the lower body elliptical on an incline of 10, it is basically like stepping stairs.
Weight machines are adequate. Free weight section is adequate. Machines are nothing amazing, but they ALL work most of the time and cover all muscle groups. There are enough free weight stations, but the gym is largely dedicated to circuit training and treadmills. For me this is fine, because I typically do a cardio session followed by a circuit of weights, followed by a stretch down. Usually my free weight sessions are with dumb bells.
There isn’t much in the form of stretching area, though they do have one of those fancy stretch cage racks. They have a few Swiss balls, but I don’t recall any medicine balls like the Loudonville location used to have.
Comparisons:
This is the only gym I have been a member of since I was a student at a Division 1 university a decade ago. It isn’t on par with those college facilities but neither are most gyms, even those in the $ 100 a month range. Locally the Loudonville location is a little bigger, and used to have more diverse selection of equipment, including rowing machines and stair steppers. It also had the above mentioned medicine balls. That said, I haven’t been to the Loudonville location in several years and can’t confirm there is still a difference.
My personal pick would be the Cicotti Center in Colonie. Top notch equipment, pool, and other indoor activities. But it is a minumum of 6X the cost per month for an individual. Alternatively, the YMCA is always a nice option, especially for those who also swim.
Summary:
Due to the value, I am willing to ignore many issues, fortunately there are not any for people who aren’t too picky. With the money we are saving, we can also afford to buy a monthly membership at the rock gym. Total cost, $ 120 for two memberships for 2 people to 2 entirely different gyms, all because Planet Fitness is $ 10 a month!
At least during off peak hours, PF-​Clifton Park is clean and uncrowded. The machines generally work and are in good repair. For $ 10 a month the place is a steal, but if you can afford more or a willing to pay more, you can certainly find better options. In the end, you are still just lifting heavy things and running on some sort of glorified hamster wheel, no matter how much you pay.

I recently started working out again for the first time in about four years, at an actual gym. My natural instinct was to drive down the road from my house and sign up at the Planet Fitness in Loudonville. I love it and I think its a fantastic place to be after a hard long day at work when all i want to do is shut my mind off and run.
Regrettably I work two jobs, and the second happens to be in Clifton Park on the weekends. Therefore I was almost easily convinced to go to the Clifton Park Planet Fitness on Saturday Morning. I assumed that bright and early on a Saturday wouldn’t be too terrible.
I walked in to the locker room, which just from looks alone had not been cleaned in probably a week. (So glad I planned to shower here!) It smelled disgusting to boot but hey, its a locker room what can you expect?
I went out in the gym area, and luckily there was a minimal amount of people. It was great and I was so excited to get my energy levels up this early in the morning.
I got on the treadmill and went to run. It was not working.
No Big Deal.
I tried seven other machines none of which occupied, and none of which were working.
Big Deal.
What is the point in having the gym if half the equipment doesn’t work? Half the lifting machines were rusted and I feared for my health in a place I should be feeling better about it.
I stood at the counter to speak with the ONE staff member working. He was leaning on the counter and using his phone. Granted I was behind him and he didn’t immediately see me but come on! It’s a job for a reason, I get that you get a free membership, but I pay for mine and when the «staff» is not there to help because they’re into a REALLY SICK game of words with friends, It peeves me off.
Tried out the tanning beds. Mine had not been sanitized, there was sweat splotches on the bed when I got in, and NO ONE had signed up before me. Gross. Moving on.
After all of that, all I wanted to do was take a shower. Black mold, dirt, no soap (no worries I brought my own but COME ON.)
All in all I was completely displeased. Bad service, cramped space, nothing clean at all. And as a note to those that choose to work out at Planet Fitness, I do not pay membership fee’s to do leg lifts on a machine that your smelly sweaty back has been rubbing and dripping all over. They have paper towels and sanitizer for EVERY machine. Use it.
Any gym that doesn’t have a clean gym first thing in the morning after a night they close early on, in my opinion, is not a gym I will be frequenting. You provide a place for people to get healthy not sick. Thank god the people at Dunkin Donuts next door had their stuff together. I had better service and selection there.
Any other gym but this one kids.

so far I like this place better than the PF in loudonville. It seems alot smaller and more cramped but not as much equipment is broken and its cleaner. After trying out some of the other gyms in the area, (ABC Sports, and GOLD“S) I have found that they are all about the same quality and either smaller (ABC) or alot more money (GOLD“S).

Cons: Half of the equipment at this place is always breaking down or out of service. The roof leaks whenever it rains for more than one day, and they really need to work on scraping the ice off the sidewalks and parking lot in the winters. No classes offered except for introductions on how to use the equipment. Parking can be very hard to find during rush hours.
Pros: Friendly staff. Can use the equipment if you don’t go there during «rush hour» periods. Right next to a Dunkin Donuts! (I can get my coffee after my run!)
For $ 10 a month, a 5-​to-​10 minute drive away from home, and ²⁴⁄₇ access to the gym on most days— I am willing to overlook most of the problems! I just supplement with yoga and Zumba classes over at Latham!